Discover why earthquakes happen, where they strike and how people stay safe, by slicing open the Earth and testing buildings on a shake table.
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
Years 3–6 geography · 1
What the chapters cover in the national curriculum in England:
Earthquake Explorers is an interactive geography game that teaches children aged 8–11 about earthquakes: why they happen, where in the world they strike and how people prepare for them. It follows the KS2 geography curriculum and is pitched mainly at Year 4.
Guided by Pip the mole, children cut the Earth in half to name the crust, mantle, outer core and inner core, then push two tectonic plates until they stick and suddenly slip. They find the focus underground and the epicentre right above it, plot real earthquake patterns along plate boundaries and trace the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean.
Later they read a seismometer's wiggly seismogram, turn a magnitude dial to see what a stronger earthquake does to a town, practise Drop, Cover and Hold On, pack an emergency kit and add cross braces and rubber pads to a building before shaking it.
An earthquake happens when two tectonic plates get stuck, pressure builds up, and then the rocks suddenly slip. The stored-up energy spreads out through the ground as seismic waves, which make the surface shake.
Most earthquakes happen along plate boundaries, where tectonic plates meet. About nine out of ten happen around the Pacific Ocean on the Ring of Fire, in countries such as Japan, Indonesia, Chile and New Zealand. The UK is far from a boundary, so its earthquakes are usually small.
Drop, Cover and Hold On: get down on your hands and knees, crawl under a sturdy table to protect your head and neck, and hold on until the shaking stops. Standing in a doorway or running outside while the ground shakes is not safe.
The game is made for children aged 8 to 11 and matches the KS2 geography curriculum, where earthquakes are usually taught in Year 4. Younger children can enjoy it with a grown-up, as every instruction is read aloud.
It has five chapters, each with an animated introduction, hands-on activities and a short recap, followed by a ten-question Earthquake Expert Challenge. Playing everything takes about 45 minutes, and children can choose any chapter or stop and carry on later.
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That's all the learning time for today. Great work! Flip will be ready to play again tomorrow.